SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane’s first metered ramp became active on Tuesday morning and a Washington State Department of Transportation engineer says Spokane will see five more on I-90 by next summer.
The first metered ramp installed at the Highway 195 and I-90 interchange went live at 6:30 a.m.
Washington State Department of Transportation leaders said metering will continue through the morning commute, ending at 9 a.m. During the afternoon commute, the ramp meter will be active at 2 p.m. through 6 p.m.
Washington State Patrol troopers say anyone who ignores the traffic control device could face a $136 fine.
WSDOT officials said the ramp meter will make the flow of traffic more fluid and safe by reducing disruptions to freeway traffic and accidents that happen when vehicles merge onto the freeway.
Here's how this stop-and-go-signal works: Before reaching the ramp, drivers will see a sign that says, "Ramp Metered Ahead When Flashing." When flashing, the ramp becomes a two-lane ramp. Drivers will pull forward up to the white line to trigger the ramp meter. If the light is red in your lane, stop at the white line.
Then, drivers are released, one car per lane, by alternating lanes on the green light. This creates about a 4 to 15 second delay between cars entering the freeway.
The Highway 195 and I-90 ramp was chosen due to the amount of car crashes associated with it, WSDOT officials said.
"Vehicles pull up and there is a platoon of cars, so you have ten cars all trying to get into one spot and that creates collisions because what [you] get is either cars slow way down on the ramp, or they stop on the ramp, and then with that causes I-90 traffic to go into a slow down and shock waves and accidents associated with that," said WSDOT traffic engineer Glenn Wagemann.
"This will help reduce that by allowing one vehicle [to] come on [at] a metered rate so it will set a gap between cars," he added.
Wagemann said the new metered ramp should also reduce congestion on I-90 and give people a more reliable estimate of commute times.
During peak traffic hours, drivers could wait at the ramp for three to four minutes and four to 15 seconds during normal traffic hours.
WSDOT plans to add metered ramps to five other I-90 locations: Eastbound at the Walnut Street on-ramp, eastbound at the Monroe Street on-ramp, eastbound at the Division Street on-ramp, eastbound at the Hamilton Street on-ramp and westbound at the Browne Street on-ramp.
Each metered ramp costs anywhere between $300,000 and $400,000, according to Wagemann.
